intexasatthe moment

boomerang for mayor ! What a good idea .

Harris Peckham ( The Academy @ Peckham ) is mixed ,I think the only Harris Boys is the new East Dulwich one facing Peckham Rye .

Fuschia - I too live in a property divided into flats ,but no dice re blue bin . Which is a shame . I'd have done without the small brown bin that was delivered unasked and if it were a choice btwn blue wheelie and kitchen caddy ,I'd also have coped without kitchen caddy ( would have bought a little countertop bin myself ).

James ,just had a phone call from Southwark/Veolia to let me know that I wouldn't be getting a blue bin . I was offered another blue box ,which I declined and explained why . Not to worry - sure I'll cope !

As far as I know this stretch of Bellenden does not yet have a bike contra flow . But there were /are planning notices on the lamposts indicating that permission is being sought to introduce a contraflow .

The discussion is about Kingsdale but there are a couple of comments about the new Harris boys Academy "I have a few friends with children at Harris boys. The quality of education seems to be on a par with Crystal palace, if not even better as they have more to prove. However you may want to check whether the harsh discipline regime will suit your child as they are very strict." " I also have a son and would not be happy to send him to Harris. It has a boot camp aspect that I find really unattractive. An earlier post suggested that Kingsdale could be a bit disorganised and the teaching at Harris was possibly better. This is not my experience or that of any other Kingsdale parents I've spoken to including one who took her son out of Harris because of the militaristic atmosphere." "Are you talking about Harris Boys Eliza because yes I agree it could be called a boot camp? However, Harris Crystal Palace is a very different school with a much more relaxed and informal atmosphere. Unless you have had children at both I don't see how you can compare."

Couple of comments here http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,546773,549583#msg-549583

The " hived off " expression was used by Sean ,expressing support for use of park by school/s.

if Harris can afford to do up these academys The cost of building an Academy runs into millions ( ? 35 million being not unusual ). Orginally sponsors were expected to contribute ?2 million . This sum was reduced to ?1.5 million for sponsors ,like Harris ,with 4 or more Academies. This requirement was dropped in 2006 so that sponsors are now required to set up endowment funds , some are not required to contribute at all " sponsors with a successful track record of running educational institutions (including high performing schools and colleges, universities and sponsors of existing academies) are expected to establish an endowment fund, but are not required to commit any specific sum to the endowment." (http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/academies/what_are_academies/sponsorship/?version=1) The Guardian reports on replies to a Parliamentary question as follows sponsors in total have so far stumped up barely two-thirds of the ?145m they are supposed to have paid towards capital costs in the seven years since the first of England's 200 academies opened. and Lord Harris, chairman and chief executive of Carpetright plc, sponsors a chain of nine academies in south London. Seven, for whom sponsorship is listed in the written answer, have so far received ?3.7m of the ?8.5m pledged. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/dec/01/academies-sponsors-government-funding I think we need to remember that these Academies are largely funded by the tax payer ,and that the monies provided by the sponsor are minimal.

Re blue wheelie bins to replace crates and bags - just phoned to request blue wheelie bin . ( I am in pilot scheme ) The very helpful lady I spoke to didn't know anything about blue wheelie bins . New blue boxes for mixed recyling are avai;lable - she couldn't tell me how they differed from old boxes or whether they were larger . She spoke to her resoloutions manager re blue wheelie bins and the response was that they couldn't comment but would phone me back . I'll PM this to James .

Dulwichmum - I'm sure you've worked this out for yourself but Hugenot's main interest in posting seems to be about winding people up . Responding to his ( ? ) posts ,only encourages him .

Magpie - no point in responding to posters like Hugenot ,it only encourages them .

Or possibly Huguenot's only interest is in goading and winding people up .

Hugenot - nothing "to get out there " ,I said early on in this thread that my mother's care at Kings had fallen short of their normal high standards ,so no revelations there . I'm not sure why you're talking about " unique requirements " ,my mother's health issues are fairly standard for elderly people . I'm also not sure why you're saying that treating patients with the tablets they bring in with them is a receipe for disaster - patients are asked to bring their medication in and it is dispensed to them. .All my mother's tablets were in blister packs - no bottles with unidentifiable tablets . I'm not "trying to take down the NHS " I was responding to comments about how money could be saved . But you're not really interested in discussion or other people's views are you ? Just in trying to whip up hysteria and make personal remarks about people . I have tried not to respond in like way ,but my resolve is obviously weakening .

well - how about reducing the time ( 6 hours from arrival to x ray and diagnosis )for a 90 year old attending A and E with a fractured femur ,then the degraded skin and dehydration they develop during the wait won't also require treatment - how about not insisting that people whose opticians have diagnosed macular degeneration attend a clinic at Kings so that macular degeneration can be confirmed in order for the patient to access other services - how about not loosing ( 3 times ) the patients medecines that they have dutifully brought in from home when admitted as an inpatient so that more have to be issued - how about not insisting " we don't treat patients holistically on this ward " so that patient has problem they were admitted with attended to and then discharged with deteriotation in other conditions so that patient readmitted 3 weeks later - how about not ordering diagnostic tests for inpatients and then loosing the results so that they have to be repeated /aren't held on file and can't be compared with further ones - how about thinking of a way in which porters delivering a patient to a ward could then take someone waiting to leave that ward ,rather than a second porter having to be called And if we were to think of NHS expenditure in the community - the overordering of dressings and related items ( dressit packs ,manuka honey ,sterile water ,etc ) has lots of potential .

and cue a post from someone who hasn't read this thread ,or the letter , to express outrage that low lifes are slating Kings for fundraising ....

Hugeunot - I've not " laid into " anyone .I've said that I don't like this technique of fundraising . I don't know if you've seen the letter in question but the main body of it ,the clear message it gives out ,spelt out very clearly in the first few lines is that it is about giving to Kings charitable funds . It does also mention ,at the end ,about keeping ones details on record for the purposes of updating the receipent . I don't think that Kings should use patients addresses in this way and I think the letter is disengenious ,am I not entitled to that view ? And for the record I have not expressed a view on whether Kings should be fundraising or not so I do not belong in the category ( if there is one ) of "being up in arms " about it .

I've not accused anyone of illegal acts . As I said the letter was within the law - as Kings explained earlier on this thread ,legal advice had been taken. Most people reading the letter wouldn't ( IMO ) understand the implications of it being from the the CEO rather than the charity ,or that it was not just a straightforward request for donations rather than one asking whether you wanted to be kept updated . If it had been a direct request for donations from the charity to recent inpatients it would ( as I understand it )have been illegal .Because it was from the CEO ,it wasn't illegal .Personally I think that equates to cunning and underhandedness . My mother who received the letter didn't understand the legal niceties - as far as she was concerned Kings were using her address to write to her about nothing to do with her health . She felt it was a breach of privacy and it upset her . I don't think that Kings should use patients data in this way - the fact that they've managed to find a way of avoiding breaking the law doesn't make it any better . And I don't believe that it's on a par with consumer groups using one's name and address . Your So now we've taken someone who cared and we've rubbed muck on their faces. The only real outcome is that after this petty abuse they'll now care just a little bit less. How terribly sad. The tragedy is that this pungent cynicism has now fecked it up for everyone. is all supposition . This is a public forum ,I've expressed a view about one of the methods that Kings uses to raise money ,if this makes Kings or their charity reconsider their techniques or reflect on their impact ,then I'm glad .

Disrupted ? As in temporarily ceasing to function/impaired ? By this thread ?

Thank you PeckhamRose . I wonder if they were looking horrified because they imagined something illegal had been done . The letter cunningly avoided that ,sent from CEO ,asking about whether receipient wanted to receive further info . It would be nice to think that they were concerned about the targeting and general underhanded ( look at us ,we can pull this mail shot off and stay within the letter of the law )ness of this . Hopefully people at KIngs will think again when they are devising fund raising techniques .

Medley - having been told by Southwark's contact for the "consultation " that Barry Mason and Southwark cyclists were in favour of this plan ,I emailed southwark cyclists asking if they could tell me why/explain what I was missing . But I didn't get a reply . I also raised it with James Barber but his reply didn't deal with the concerns I'd raised ,only said that it was a good thing to extend the cycle route that runs from Old Kent Rd area along old canal past library . I did respond to the "consultation " but the impression I got was that it was already decided . I had asked if the date for replies could be extended ( given the lack of publicity ) and was told that this wouldn't be possible as a delay would mean loosing the money allocated to the project .

I'm a bore I know ,but one of the things that makes me so mad about the Peckham Rye contraflow is that there was a consultation . But who knew ? And how much did the "consultation" cost ?

cyclists overtake buses everyday and filter in and out of the bus lane to do so- yup ,and down in Peckham they filter into the bike contraflow going in the opposite direction . Hopefully they manage to avoid any bikes /pedestrains coming the other way but obscured by the bus they are overtaking .

I think most supported housing ,either that you buy or rent ,offers only minimal support . And sadly ,ime ,because it's usually a number of flats with some shared common facilities it can be quite a confusing environment .Think hotel corridors and trying to remember which is your door . But a lot of help can be available to people continuing to live in their own homes from social services - carers calling in several times a day ," meals on wheels " . Ask GP to refer ? Or try Alzheimers society for help and advice ?

Well it doesn't matter if they have does it ? Sure there's room for more than one account . I love historical detail about the area and am especially interested in this bit - where are you going public ? How can I read it ?